Guinness World Records has found a new record to be registered, in the Bournemouth town of England. It is a four legged furry creature whose unusually long existence has been found to be worthy of being acknowledged by the prestigious organization. Meet Poppy, a 24 year old tortoiseshell cat, whose age can be read in human terms as 114 years. That way, Poppy can be very well compared to Misao Okawa of Japan, who is the oldest living person in the world (about 116 years old), and hence is just two years older to the feline.
Earlier the title of ‘The Oldest Living Cat’ belonged to Pinky (Kansas, USA) who passed away last year at the age of 23 years. However, the oldest cat in the recorded history has lived in Austin, Texas (USA) till a mind-blowing figure of 38 years and 3 days.
As per the editor-in-chief of the organization, they keep receiving the claims for ‘the oldest living cat’ in loads, from all around the world. The claim of Poppy being the oldest living cat was sent by its owner and was thoroughly investigated by the officials of Guinness World Records before recognizing it.
Poppy was adopted at the age of 5 by Marguerite Corner and her daughter Jacqui. After 5 years, Jacqui moved in with her then boy-friend and now husband, Andy West, along with Poppy. Now, the couple has two sons, and besides Poppy, they also have other pets – four cats, two rabbits and a hamster.
The old feline has lost its sight and hearing, but even in such an advanced stage of life Poppy maintains some aggression, and clearly is the boss of the house. For instance, if any of the cat eyes Poppy’s food she may bite its ear to ward it off.
The proud pet owner Jacqui points towards a good diet and lots of exercise as the probable reason for Poppy’s long life. But since the last year, Poppy’s health has become a cause for alarm on several occasions. And on most of these occasions, Jacqui has thought that it was time to say goodbye to her aging feline companion, but each time Poppy recuperated and carried on with life.
Right now Jacqui and her family are rejoicing the official announcement of her cat’s world record. Let’s hope that Poppy continues to live a happily as long as it breathes.
